Analysis of My Students See Their Shadows
My students see their shadows
When we walk to recess
When leaves and birds are gone
In the middle of December
When nothing could distract them
From walking straight
And looking forward
A parade of little feet
on frozen pavement
They point and wave
To see themselves
Waving back at them
A new-found friend
To mimic them
Reminding me to look
To stop and check for mine
“It’s longer than me”
One student says
Another chimes
“Me too”
Just five-year olds
And dancing shadows
On a winter afternoon
I’m trying to keep the line
I’m trying to remember
What joy a shadow can bring
God grant they never loose
That curiosity
And in seasons far from now
I never forget today
Scheme | ABCDEFGHIJKELEMNOPQRSATNDUVOWX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (37%) Tetractys (27%) |
Metre | 110111 111101 110111 00101010 1101011 1101 01010 0011101 11010 1101 1101 10111 0111 1101 010111 110111 11011 1101 0101 11 1111 0101 101001 1101101 1101010 110111 111101 10100 0010111 1100101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 694 |
Words | 138 |
Sentences | 1 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 30 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 18 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 532 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 121 |
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"My Students See Their Shadows" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/178119/my-students-see-their-shadows>.
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